I turned one of my coworkers on to knockoff shit on Wish, and he is heavily into fishing and pretty much agrees with all of your sentiments listed here. Heâs been buying knockoff lures like mad ever since.
I will further add that a lot of fishing gear is consumable. Not just line, but also hooks that can just plain break or wear out, and especially lures and so forth in that they are inherently prone to getting lost, irretrievably snagged in a tree, outright eaten by a fish and dragged to the depths never to be seen again, etc.
It is therefore bonkers to pay a premium for most of this stuff which is ultimately disposable.
Hundred percent. Why pay $8 if Iâm just gonna lose it snagged on an unseen underwater log or in a tree?
Also, the fish do not scoff at the off-brand lure. They say, yay, yummy!
I still pay premium for my reels, but only because I havenât found one that compares with the Pflueger President yet. Though thatâs mostly because I havenât been in the market for a new reel and the ones on Ali Express donât come with the rubber soft touch knob the Pflueger ones do. Small things, though. Iâm slowly looking into ordering the knob separate as replacement parts then trying out some $14 12+1 bearing spinning reel just to see if itâs good enough.
On another note, I think China might be a way better resource for carp fishing equipment. They specifically fish for carp there way more than in the US and I see more double drag reels or rods with ground spikes built in for just that purpose. But I havenât had the interest to expand beyond trout, bass and pickerel just yet.
Tbqh Iâm not shopping for electronics or clothes on Ali Express, but Iâll happily buy line, lures, rods, terminal tackle and tackle organizers on there. Even if I bought it in a brick and mortar here, itâs probably all shipping from China anyhow.
